Persona 5 IMAGINING PROJECT: PROLOGUE
by Assininesyndrome
Summary: This a fanmade prologue which I worked on developing characters within this project. This prologue contains spoilers for the main story. But if you don't care please read by all means. This explains the world Kai is living in, and who exactly is behind this whole engineered reality. The main character is Kai's father, James Ryotaro.


_**PERSONA 5 IP - PROLOGUE**_

"….Now pay attention. Let's say you were to take this mirror for example. Just stand up to it and look at it. Of course this is nature's perfect cloning technology. You can see who u are and what u are through it. So we generally assume that whoever we see in that mirror, is us. We see our selves they do the same thing so it's obviously correct. But that is entirely false. Say we take our left hand and move it up, usually our mirrored reflection would do the same. But if I were to raise my left hand, wouldn't the mirror, being a perfect reflection of me based on my perspective, lift his right hand? So this is where these perfect reflections are imperfect in a sense. They are not a reflection, they are completely different things, who u are here and what u see in that mirror. An entirely different world. And the only way it exists is as long as we exist. So I guess we can call it, a mirrored world. Any questions?"

"Is there a way to destroy a mirror world?"

"Destroy? Ha, do you realize what you're saying, if we destroyed the mirrored world, we would be destroying the only proof that we are living beings. Listen the mirror in your living room isn't the only one in the world. Think about it. Oceans are mirrors, your eyes are mirrors, even the sunlight reflecting off ur body is a mirror. If we were to take all that away, what can we use to prove that we are individually different. Taking ur mirrored selves away, is also taking ur sense of self away. The only way to destroy a mirrored world is to take the one thing that defines the world in the first place. You, this planet, this universe, everything. Leave not even a trace of existence behind. In other words if u perish, ur mirrored selves will perish as well. Ever heard the phrase 'I'm taking you down with me'. It is exactly like this theory.

"But it cant be proven yet?"

"Well of course it can't be proven. We're still here! No one, not even I, has reached that level of understanding about the world yet. But...maybe it can be proven by someone, someone in the future….

(TIME SKIP 20 YEARS)

 **(Video Tape Recording 1)**

At that time, I was still a young boy in Naniwa University. The place was huge filled with people from Subaru, Inaba, Wakamoto, and even out in the country side, Damakima. I never imagined I would amount to anything then a salary worker. My motivation was to at least support my Dad who had retired from work. But I guess like every story, they should start from some point right? Well let's begin.

My name is James Ryotaro. A teacher of psychological, and researcher in subatomic molecular energy. I had spent decades developing a machine capable of transporting a human consciousness to a machine, in other words a virtual world. The reason...humanity's extinction.

This thing...this fog, it plagued Naniwa. And then the world. It turned the people into the monsters you see. Nothing...but lifeless dummies covered in black. They all have broken white masks on their faces. No eyes. Some even crying. They are quite horrifying. I grabbed as much people as I could into my research facility. If I were to say, maybe the size the Titanic.

Sigh...

I wanted to save as much people as I could. This fog you see, ever since it came to Naniwa, it's almost as if people started killing themselves. The word was if you got even an inch close to it, you would hallucinate and be drawn to the darkest depths of your mind. There you would be torn limb from limb, almost as if the fog was feeding on your consciousness. I tried to collect samples of the air outside to experiment on rats. But out of the 25 rats I sampled.

Only one survived...and barely.

Its body was deteriorating, leaving only it's brain and lungs to function. It couldn't move its body at all. Even when trying to get the rat in my hand, his fear grew to tremendous heights. It would screech to the top of its lungs, only sounding like an annoying parrot in the end.

It died of starvation later on.

The only way to truly see these effects was to experience them for hand. There is just to much at stake to let go of this opportunity, so i'm giving myself up. I was prepared to die, to give a cure for this calamity, to see these effects first hand. So needed to know more about the fog's effects. Based on the footages left behind all those years ago, the people just went crazy and killed themselves, changing instantly. It wasn't poison, suffocation, or any known disease of any kind. From all the research I gathered, all I can say was that it was almost like they were being controlled.

So I went into my lab, and gathered the remaining samples of the fog. I locked it in a tightly closed air chamber. The particles of the fog were compressed, to stop it from spreading across the chamber, just in case it were to contaminate anything. I took extreme precautions for this….

(Beep)(Beep)( _ **AIR CHAMBER LOCK DISABLED)**_

If anyone sees this recording...and….and I am not myself...please kill me. I will trap myself within the chamber, so I won't effect anyone else.

I know this request is selfish but….I have a son..please take car-

 _ **AIR CHAMBER LOCKED. COMMENCING EXPERIMENT 5874.**_

 _ **INITIATING…**_

(You see the man in the recording trap himself in the chamber. The rest of the video is full of silence.)

 **(** **Video Tap Recording 2)**

(The mysterious man is looking directly at the camera. His eyes are bewildered. He is still alive.)

….

I don't understand….

I don't understand..I don't understand….I don't understand…

What...was that?

Wasn't I suppose to die?...

….

….I'm alive. I'm alive! I'M ALIVE! HehehehahahHAhAHAHA!

IM ALIVE! YES! IM ALIVE!

I can't believe it….I'm still alive….right?

W-wait...

(The man walks away from the camera. Sounds are coming from the background. He is looking for something…)

I...have to write this down. Everything.

The fog...is not a disease, or rather any toxic chemical I know.

It's like….it's alive….

In the chamber, as soon as I started to breath...I wasn't myself anymore. I could feel my flesh and bones dissolving in the air. But everytime I blinked, I just reverted back to normal. And then it would start again. I would melt, blink, come back.

This didn't last long though. I was starting to melt faster than I could blink.

Or rather I couldn't blink anymore….my eyes...my eyes began to water uncontrollable, and my hands….weren't there.

My limbs were gone.

I was in a complete state of shock. All the my surroundings had turn to black.

Amidst the darkness I was shown terrible sights. Whatever it was, I was shown faces of other people i've known, ripped apart by an invisible force.

Then for just a split second I could see an image, an image of a strange creature. I had shouted to the top of my lungs.

"WHO ARE YOU! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!"

One after another, they were ripped in front of my eyes. My parents, my friends, my body.

Until one person showed up. The only thing I truly held to my heart.

My son.

Seeing that image of him, about to be torn like a bloody mess, for some reason. I was filled with rage. I was filled with so much….sadness.

Watching the thing you wanted to protect about to get ripped in front of your eyes like paper….what would you do?

I yelled, I screamed, I cursed, I cried.

What sort of sadistic thing was this?

I was determined in my mind, to make that machine. To end all of this. To save the world from this foul thing.

"I'LL FIND YOU! I SWEAR I'LL DESTROY YOU!"

It just stopped.

It stopped twisting his head. The mere thought of my son getting hurt, was…...enough for me.

It was enough strength, it was enough courage…

It was power, my drive to do the things I do, I thought.

The images of the torn limbs all disappeared before me. Everything turned into white ash.

It all came together and formed...something. A creature.

I realized that I could move again in this dark space. I had walked towards this thing.

For some reason, I could feel it looking at me or rather it came towards me. It was like a bubble..no a cloud of energy.

It began to take shape.

And it turned...into me.

"What are you?" I asked.

It spoke softly.

" _I am thou... Thou art I... From the depths of thy soul, I come forth…"_

"Your me..?"

" _..I shall grant you the power and knowledge you seek...I will help you…..for I am.."_

Your _**Persona**_ it said.

I woke up after that.

I was lying on ground, clenching my heart like I was suffocating. My partners were outside looking through the window….the same people I told to destroy me if I went berserk.

I shouted at them to open the hatch, to let me out, and when they did….I ran as fast as I could out of there.

My body was trembling. "Just what was that?", I thought.

But my lab partners were looking at me, as if i had turned into one of the "shadows", and were a safe distance away from me.

One of them even had a fire extinguisher directed towards.

"Are you...ok James?"

I turned and gave them a small thumbs up gesture.

The sigh and relief they felt...I swear I could have felt it. But I was more bewildered and shocked at one thing, and I'm pretty sure they didn't realize it either.

I...was still alive.

99% of the victims that were in the fog died later on. But now I am that 1%.

Starting this video recording….I'm now able to piece everything together.

This _**Persona**_ thing is the key to solving this fog..this plague!

 **(Video Recording 3)**

After a couple of months, I had opened our airlock chamber, and allowed myself outside to see what would happen.

I took in deep breaths and walked around safe distances. This fog...even a single deep breath could destroy you mentally….

I had concluded that the effects of the fog, have no effect on me. I was immune to it.

After a couple of days of coping with this conclusion. I went out to scavenge for materials.

I still needed supplies to sustain everyone...to sustain my research.

I never went outside of the lab ever since that day, so I didn't know what to expect.

The shadows...former citizens of Naniwa under the influence of this fog….roamed endless around a war ridden wasteland. Walking around there felt like I was the only alive.

When the these people turned into shadows that day, they mercilessly killed anything that had even a breath of life in them. I'm not sure why they looked like that, but I wanted to stay away from them as carefully as I could.

Along the journey I could only think about what had happened in that chamber...my son...that creature... _ **Persona**_.

"If everyone were to unlock this _**Persona**_ , then just maybe...just maybe we could save the world." I thought.

But I never know it was true…..until I met her.

I was scavenging food during my search outside, when a huge explosion had hit one of the buildings.

"What was that!" I thought.

I went outside to see a skyscraper slowing falling to the ground. A loud blast echoed as it hit the ground, falling on some of the shadow people wandering lifelessly. The building was demolished in seconds as it landed, breaking into large chunks of rock and debris.

"What kind of world is this." I thought.

Then almost as if my body was moving on it's own, I walked towards it.

I went to see what exactly had landed or hit the building in the first place. Maybe it was a helicopter, or an airplane with some survivors.

But I wasn't to hopeful. Even if their were survivors, the fog would have ended them.

In the end I only saw a white, pale hand sticking out of the rubbled. It was a bit unsettling to see the other bodies as well, some still moving, despite being dismembered.

Taken by sadness, I was about to go back to the lab when all of sudden…..that hand in the rubble started to move.

Almost unnerved but this observation, I started to dig. All I thought about was getting this person out alive. I needed this person alive.

In the end I found a woman, barely any clothes, and almost appeared to be on the brink of death.

"...please...help..me…"

I was shouting, panicking, all I thought about was keeping this person alive.

"HEY ARE YOU ALRIGHT! HEY SPEAK TO ME!"

I was running and shouting at the same time. I had to save her.

She could be the answer, the answer I was looking for.

I brought her back to the lap, and examined her body. She was still alive but barely breathing.

"Your gonna be alright ok..stay with me….."

"...no...wait.." She spoke softy.

The other scientists came with packets of blood, just in case we needed to perform a transfusion.

But I checked time and time again. She had no pulse, she had no heartbeat. Her body had no indication of blood vessels, or even arteries.

It was almost as if she wasn't human.

I had put down my utensils and told the others to back away. I slowly walked towards her again.

"..what are you…" I said.

"...please..you...need….to listen…"

" ...what is it?"

"..over...here.."

I moved closely to her face. Her eyes were purple, and her short hair looked almost as if it glowed white. And her lips were drenched in red. I went to touch her forehead, the place she cunningly directed me towards.

"..here? Do you feel-"

But before I know what to expect, she locked lips into mines. Her hands gripped on my face.

I was suffocating, almost gasping for air when she finally stopped. I looked at her again, her eyes were glowing. Her pupils almost as sharp as a cats.

She caressed my face "I..need..more...life".

The lips were locked again.

The more she kissed, the more I felt like my energy was being drained. My legs felt numb and my eyes started to waver a bit.

Then she stopped...finally.

"What are you-"

"A reward."

"...what!?"

"A reward...for saving my life."

She wiped the saliva off her lips.

She was smiling at me, while her body began to heal. Even her physique started to change a little, becoming more rejuvenated.

"I really do have to thank you. I thought I was a goner there. Sometimes I just need a little energy to keep me going."

"Energy? You just kissed me?!".

"Didn't I tell you it was a reward. I thought you species enjoy that kind of interaction."

"Species?"

"Yes you are a human aren't you?"

"What are you…saying?…"

She broke out in laughter. Her hand went up in air like some rich cocky girl. Her demonic laugh echoed inside the lab. Just who or what did I save? What the hell is she?

I took one of the knives on the tray and held it against her.

Seeing the knife, she stopped laughing. Her narrow purple eyes gazed at me, observing what I was going to do.

The knife was shaking in my hand.

"I won't ask again. Who...or what are you?"

"And why should I tell you? Wasn't that kiss enough of an award?"

"Dammit! Stop playing games! WHO ARE YOU!"

"...Fine. Since you managed to get me this far, I am indeed indebted to you. My name….is Nyarlethotep."

"Nyar...lethotep?"

The day I met her, my research had officially begun.

(That was the last video...)

 **Chapter 1**

Nyarlethotep wasn't human. In fact, she found it revolting to even be related to one.

"Some humans are disgusting. They're almost like insects making their own nests" She would say.

"Hey I'm right here you know...and besides if you hate them that much, why look like one?"

"Well I did say some."

"Hmph. Your pretty picky for some guardian".

"Some humans are born with intellect, others with great strength, with talent, and... a little charm."

"Charm huh? Is that why you kissed me?"

She looked at me with that same pompous smile as before. The very first day we met.

It's been months now. Sometimes I don't even know whether time is moving forward or back.

All I know is that Nyarlethotep is the key...to a puzzle I don't even know of.

I remembered everything that day, where are lives intertwined.

(FLASHBACK)

"WHO ARE YOU!"

"...Fine. Since you managed to get me this far, I am indeed indebted to you. My name….is Nyarlethotep."

"Nyar...lethotep?"

"Yes."

"What...are you?"

"That's a pretty impolite way to ask someone their origins."

"Just tell me damn it!"

Her hand pointed to the air.

"Up there. A realm beyond your understanding. I am one of the 8 guardians of this planet, picked to protect this world from the unknown threats that may intercept it."

I didn't know whether to believe or story, or to cut her down where she stood. She still looked at me with as much ego as a cocky woman. She pulled her knees to her face, and laid her head on top of them.

"However, by some unknown force, we were all killed one by one. Two of us barely escaped".

"Killed?...a guardian? What is that? Are you playing around with me? You just expect me to believe you?"

She put her hands up laughing. "Ok ok...I understand this is alot to take in, but I do speak the truth. You saw didn't you? That i'm not human."

I was trembling with fear. "Just what the hell was she talking about", I wondered. She comes out of rubble and then she gives me all this crap about guardians.

But then it came to me, how did she end up in that rubble?

"Why were you buried underground...were you hit by the building?"

She laughed again.

"Hit by the building?! No...I hit the building".

"What do you mean?"

"I'm guessing you were outside, so surely you should have saw something hit the building correct?"

She's right...I did see something hit it. But...her!? She caused that massive skyscraper to collapse?

"I...don't believe it. That building is made of pure concrete. Even a tank, even if it was thrown at that speed, wouldn't cause it to collapse like that..."

She shrugged.

"I guess I have no choice..."

She lifted her hand towards me. Her eyes started to glow again just like that other time.

"I...never did tell you the real reason why i kissed you did I."

"What!?"

"It was a pact. We are now intertwined like the wings of a red butterfly. However the incantation cannot be complete, unless I see it."

"YOU BI-"

"Oh no you dont."

With a swipe of her finger, my body instantly floated mid air. The knife I held to her went into her direction.

"I don't understand. You destroyed a huge skyscraper. You can control people's movements with a single swipe of your finger. So why? Why don't you kill me!"

"Didn't I tell you. I am indebted to you for saving me. And also..."

She pulled me closer.

"...your the only one who can save this world."

I was in bewilderment. She started to chant the words. Those same words I heard those same mouths ago when I experimented on myself. That very same chant I heard from that creature.

" _I am thou... Thou art I... From the depths of thy soul, I come forth…"_

It was called...

 _"I COMMAND THEE NOW! COME FORTH! PERSONA!"._

It was like broken glass. I saw shards circling around me mid-air, getting wider and wider. Within the circle of the shards, I something oozing from my chest. The thing took shape and turned into a creature I had never seen before. I screamed out as I felt a burning sensation bursting out from my chest.

"Yes...you are the one..." Nyarlethotep's glowing eyes gleamed with happiness.

The creature to the form of a humanoid, with 6 red eyes, symmetrical of each other. His body was infused with armor, engraved with strange patterns. Horns also were sticking out of its head. And the only human related characteristic he had was his mouth.

I watched as he was formed in front of me. My eyes were opened wide. Purple aura surrounding Nyarlethotep's body was infused with the creature. And then it turned around...

..to face me.

It looked at me face to face. It's gave a manly presence.

" _James...Ryotaro._ "

I looked at it as it spoke to me.

"Y-yes..."

" _My power shall be divided amongst the both of you, to serve as a bond and connection between the two_."

Nyarlethotep was looking at me.

" _I was summoned by Nyarlethotep, but not by you, therefore I must ask for your permission."_

 _"_ Permission? Permission for what? I don't even understand what you are. You just appear in my dreams...and tell me that you'll lend me strength."

" _Yes. For that is my purpose. To aid you until the world seeps you dry of your life."_

 _"_ Nyarlethotep, how did you know about this? How did you know I had a Persona?"

She spoke with aggression.

"How on earth would I not convince you otherwise! You wouldn't believe what I had to say!"

"But!..."

"Listen..you have two choices. One...to sit here and figure out how to rejuvenate the corrupted world you have no understanding off. Or two...join me. Let me teach you how to use your Persona, to understand how to accomplish your objectives. To save humanity. To save...

..your son."

"My son..."

"Committing suicide...is not the right answer".

Yeah.

I know.

I know...I wasn't going to discover anything about this plague. No matter how much I researched. It was just...beyond by level of understanding. I had enough.

It was just me. It just only me trying to figure out what happened to the world. Everyone else, even my own educated lab partners, just relied on me. They...had already given up. And I was their only ray of hope. The only one who was still fighting.

But the more days went by, the more I asked myself, just what exactly was I fighting for? Just what was I doing, sacrificing the life I had left in this lifeless world. For who? For what?

This dilemma within my mind was eating me alive. And I didn't even know the answer, not even when I tried to kill myself.

(FLASHBACK)

"(Beep)(Beep)( _ **AIR CHAMBER LOCK DISABLED)**_

'If anyone sees this recording...and….and I am not myself...please kill me. I will trap myself within the chamber, so I won't effect anyone else.

I know this request is selfish but….I have a son..please take car-'

 _ **AIR CHAMBER LOCKED. COMMENCING EXPERIMENT 5874.**_

 _ **INITIATING…"**_

(FLASHBACK END)

That's what I was looking for. I wanted an answer. I wanted a drive. I wanted to know why I fight.

" _James Ryotaro. I ask you...what do you fight for?"_

"Now I get it...you were the one showing me those images...the ones where my family, my friends, and even my son were torn to pieces. You were the one spurring me on..."

" _...Yes_ "

"You were trying to help me find my answer...you were trying...to look out for me."

The tears streamed down my down my face.

" _What is your deci-"._

" **THEN YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW THE DAMN ANSWER! I FIGHT FOR EVERYONE! MY FAMILY! MY FRIENDS! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY MY SON! I WILL END THIS PLAGUE!I WILL BRING BACK THE WORLD! I"LL DO ANYTHING DAMMIT!"**

Nyarlethotep began to laugh ferociously.

"WE HAVE AN ANSWER THEN!"

" _Indeed...the pact is complete. Both of your lives will be intertwined. When one will perish, and the other lives, I will always remain. Your soul will always remain."_

I wiped my tears.

"...my soul?"

But before I could question it, my **Persona** was sucked inside me like a vacuum.

I shouted as the burning sensation come back, and ultimately fell to the ground.

The next thing I knew...I was outside the lab...lying on Nyarlethotep's lap.

She finally had clothes on, or at least looked like it.

She smirked looking at my half-woken self.

"You sure cry like a child when your ambitious."

I could tell from that point that Nyarlethotep, was indeed a friend.

"...shut up."

(FLASHBACK END)

We walked back into the lab.

I showed Nyarlethotep where we hid the millions of people who were still alive.

"These people..." She sounded shocked.

"We grabbed as much people as we could...before the fog had hit us."

"Why are they asleep? Shouldn't they also be helping?"

"I can't expose them to the outside, or else they may contract the effects of the fog. They are each in a cryogenic capsule designed to preserve their bodies."

Nyarlethotep was indeed shocked. It was the first time she saw anything like this. Or rather anything that could have been accomplished by humans at this feat.

"The capsule is keeping them alive. But for how long?"

"...1 more year".

"1 year!? But that's..."

"I know...it's not enough time."

We went down the elevator as Nyarlethotep was stunned by the amount of people in the tunnel.

"The amount of time and money I spent in developing the cryogenic chambers had paid off, but at a price of it's limited use."

"What is limiting it?"

"Energy...I tried to produce my own kind of energy through generators, but it's just not enough. Instead I'm working on a way to slow down the cryogenic's process, making it use less data. Right now everyone is in a coma like state, where they are neither died nor alive. Therefore their heartrates have increased dramatically at an alarming rate. This drawback strains the use of the cryogenic chamber."

"So you would need to decrease that heart rate?"

"Not only that...I would need to put them all in an induced trance. Almost making them feel like their alive. If I accomplish that, they could live on for another 4 years".

"...so what is your plan?"

I took Nyarlethotep to the deepest part of the tunnel. In front of us, there was a locked chamber encrypted with a 16 digit password. After filling it out. The chamber had opened.

It revealed the people...that survived the fog.

"These people have had contact with the fog, and were able to live on despite the fog's effects. However, they haven't woken up from it."

"Is...this your son?"

"Yes...his name is Kai. Kai Ryotaro."

"Then it's also a miracle that they may all have **Personas**."

"Yes and that's why I am developing this project, for them to develop and nurture them."

"What is it?"

"It's a virtual world, a place that will trick the brain into thinking it is actually alive. The cryogenic chambers will supplement their bodies for however long it takes...however."

"Some one has to control the virtual world?".

"No...someone has to **m** **ake** the virtual world. This whole system scans the memories of your bodies stimuli and five senses. What you ate, what your said, how something feels, how something interacts. All these sensations put into one giant world. Someone needs to be the catalyst."

"Are you planning...to do it?"

"No not yet...I still haven't understood much about the **Persona** yet. But when I do, I will definently see it through."

"James..."

"I have no regrets Nyarlethotep. You and my **Persona** helped me see my reason for fighting. This isn't suicide...it's an obligation. It must be done."

"Well...I won't stop you...so what is the name of your grand attempt at saving the world James Ryotaro."

"I call it the _**Imagining Project.**_ "


End file.
